Patrick Wintour in the Guardian that Gordon Brown is preparing to deselect Labour MPs who have improperly claimed expenses. The plan will be agreed by the NEC next week. Could this mean an end to the political careers of Hazel Blears, Jacqui Smith and Geoff Hoon, let alone Elliot Morley, Shahid Malik and David Chaytor? Significant if true, and one hell of a riposte to David Cameron. In my piece in the Daily Telegraph today I've tried to explain the reason behind the PM's dithering, and I reveal that Mr Brown was urged last week to clear out the bad apples on the frontbench as pre-emptive measure. You can read the whole piece . Here is an extract:

"From inside Number 10, the case for the defence points out that the crisis is not over: just because Mr Brown has not yet delivered his personal verdict on the failings of those around him does not mean he will not do so. Hazel Blears in particular,Carrera ??? ?????, who has been the recipient of angry private letters from fellow ministers demanding that she explain her behaviour, is likely to have the satisfied smile wiped off her face when the now inevitable reshuffle comes next month.

"Westminster officials accept that however bad the PR, Mr Brown is fundamentally right to want to see both reform and auditing of MPs' expenses handled by the Commons as the constitutionally relevant body. Mr Cameron won easy praise for the steeliness of his swift response, but the Prime Minister is dismissive of any system that amounts to MPs deciding among themselves who was wrong, let alone how much they should repay. Interestingly,???????? ?????, senior Tories suggest privately that the internal audit set up by their leader may have to be rolled into whatever system is agreed by the Commons to give it greater legitimacy.

"But politics is unforgiving, and even his allies concede that Mr Brown's high moral tone is of no use if his political judgment remains so impaired. Tellingly, he rejected advice last weekend for the kind of decisive purge of the bad apples on his side that would have allowed him to outflank Mr Cameron.

"Why he did so remains unclear. But two reasons suggest themselves. The first is that Mr Brown believes that words are cheap and that he will be judged ultimately on whether he can deliver a Commons agreement on expenses reform. As an explanation it is frankly difficult to sell,??? ?????, as he is open to the charge that he signally failed to follow talk of reform with action last year. If it mattered so much,??? ????, for example,????? ?????????, why did he not turn up to vote for the abolition of the notorious "John Lewis list" last summer, and allow some of his ministers to vote to keep it? The second reason speaks to the tribal politician that defines Mr Brown. It may seem scarcely believable to those outside who read in disbelief The Daily Telegraph's revelations each day,???? ??????, but he and his chums are eaten by a sense of grievance. They feel that the spotlight of scrutiny has failed to expose wealthy Tories such as David Cameron and George Osborne,http://www.wholesalegroupjapan.com/%E3%80%90POLICE%E3%80%91%E3%83%9D%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9-2650/, who fund their mortgages on the taxpayer.

"In the end,Furla ??? ?????, the moral Gordon we hear about so often is a Labour politician who will do nothing that might give the Tories an edge,???? ????????, whether it be disowning his own side or asking the Speaker to quit. As one MP concludes: "He is weak because he is political. Labour comes before anything else,Columbia ????? ????, at a time when all else must come before Labour"."